Restricted Death

Chapter 148 The Long-Awaited Battle

Unohana Retsu suddenly felt a surge of unease in her heart.

Even when Captain-Commander Yamamoto ordered her not to fight Shin, she did not feel any anger.

When she said that her current life was so peaceful it made her nauseous, and that she wanted to escape from this kind of life, her tone was as calm as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her.

But now she truly felt a surge of impulse within her.

Was he angered by her?
"You always manage to say things that amaze me."

Unohana Retsu narrowed her eyes slightly, revealing a mysterious glint that Shin had never seen before.

"I'm really curious where your confidence comes from?"

She held a certain expectation for Shin. Unlike Kenjiro, Shin's spiritual pressure was so weak when they first met that she could easily crush him with a single finger.

Fortunately, he made rapid progress and reached the level of third-grade spiritual power in just two years.

Perhaps in a while, I'll be able to catch up with her.

After returning from Rukongai that time, she reflected that perhaps she had been a bit too hasty.

Tachikawa may not have reached the level she expected yet. Perhaps she should give him some more time until he truly reaches a level equal to hers, or even surpasses hers.

As for Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's orders, she never took them to heart.

All she cared about was Xin's opinion.

However, judging from the current situation, it seems that she is not the only one who is acting too hastily.

The letter appeared calm and composed: "So, Captain, can you accept this?"

"..."

Unohana Retsu stared at the letter for a long time before saying, "The Captain-Commander has sternly ordered me not to fight you."

Shin countered, "If you care about these things, Captain, why did you go to Rukongai before?"

Unohana said calmly, "The Captain-Commander should have made the same request of you. You will soon become the captain of the 10th Division. Are you really going to do something against the Captain-Commander's will for this? Even if everything goes according to your wishes, what will happen afterward? How will you face the Captain-Commander's wrath?"

Shin shook his head and said, "The Captain-Commander just doesn't want to see either me or the Captain die, so what I'm doing now isn't going against the Captain-Commander's wishes."

His words sounded reasonable and could be interpreted as meaning that as long as he didn't kill himself at the end of the battle, it would be fine.

Unohana's feelings at this moment were indescribable; she seemed to find it absurd, so absurd that she was speechless.

She really disliked Xin's attitude, so arrogant as to offer her a way out in front of her.

What gives him the right?

Third-class Spirit Might?

The third-class spiritual power is merely the threshold for becoming a captain.

Based on his swordsmanship, which he can be proud of.
This might indeed be something he can rely on; achieving sword energy across the sky without relying on spiritual power is something that ordinary people cannot do.

Zaraki couldn't do that, or rather, Zaraki's swordsmanship was just about picking up a knife and swinging it around randomly.

Retsu Unohana truly yearns for a battle that will allow her to fully enjoy herself, ideally at the very last moment of her life.

The letter's promise to spare her life after the battle contradicted her own vision.

"You seem absolutely certain you can beat me, haven't you ever considered the possibility of losing?"

Upon hearing this, Xin tilted his head and said, "I've thought about it."

"Aren't you going to beg me to spare your life in the end?"

Would the captain do that?

Unohana Retsu fell silent again, but her eyes now seemed to send chills down one's spine.

"Xin, are you courting death?"

Xin suddenly laughed: "This is the first time the captain has called me by my name."

His smile faded slightly: "I'm afraid you won't be able to kill me, Captain."

#
First team team building.

"The Central 46 has approved the proposal for Tachikawa Shin to serve as the captain of the 10th Division. Please inform him of this at the next captain's meeting," Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni said to Sasakibe Chojiro.

Shiba Isshin had just been expelled from the squad, and Yamamoto was thinking of having Shin take over as the captain of the 10th Division in another month.

From the outside perspective, this also gives the First Division and Central 46 a time to handle the follow-up matters.

"I'll draft the appointment documents," said Chojiro Sasakibe. "Should we inform the vice-captain of the 10th Division beforehand?"

"No need," Yamamoto shook his head. "Just keep a close eye on those two during this time, and make sure they don't cause any trouble."

Chojiro Sasaki said, "I have already privately informed Captain Soi Fon that the Covert Force is secretly monitoring the movements of Captain Unohana and Tachikawa."

In fact, when Retsu Unohana went to Rukongai alone, Sasakibe knew immediately. If Nobu Tachikawa had dared to leave the Fourth Division barracks at that time, he would have been immediately stopped by the Execution Army.

When Chojiro Sasaki learned that Retsu Unohana had gone to Rukongai, he was secretly worried.

If it really comes to that, only the captain-in-chief will be able to step in personally.

That kind of scene certainly wouldn't be very pleasant.

Retsu Unohana and Shin Tachikawa both broke the rules and will inevitably be punished; he also hopes everything will be peaceful.

Chojiro Sasaki returned to his office and drafted an official document appointing Nobuo Tachikawa as the captain of the 10th Division. He then released the Hell Butterfly to notify Nobuo Tachikawa to come to the 1st Division.

Not long after, the Hell Butterfly returned on its own.

The Hell Butterfly couldn't find anyone!
Sensing something was wrong, Sparrowbe quickly left the office and rushed to the Fourth Division.

"The vice-captain of the Sparrow Division?"

Inside the Fourth Division barracks, Kotetsu Isane came to greet him, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Where is Tachikawa?"

"I'll go call him." Kotetsu Isane seemed oblivious to what was happening.

"I will go with you."

The two arrived at Shin's office together. Kotetsu Isane knocked on the door first and said that the vice-captain of the sagabe club had arrived, but no sound came from inside.

Chojiro Sasakibara pushed the door open and found the office empty.

"Could it be in the general clinic?" Kotetsu Isane asked doubtfully.

Chojiro Sasaki frowned slightly and asked again, "Is Captain Unohana here?"

"in office."

"Go and call Tachikawa over. I'm going to see Captain Unohana."

"okay."

Chojiro Sasaki went to the Fourth Division Captain's office, and a moment later, he came out and appeared on top of the team building with a Shunpo.

Beside him, a Shinigami dressed entirely in black appeared out of nowhere. This person was a member of the Onmitsukido, and his attire differed from that of ordinary Shinigami. "Where are they?" Sparrowbe asked in a deep voice.

"Aren't they in the barracks?" the Shinigami asked with a puzzled look. "Their spiritual pressure has been consistently present."

Upon hearing this, Suzakube quickly investigated as well. After clearly sensing the spiritual pressure of Unohana Retsu and Tachikawa Shin, his expression instantly turned grim.

He didn't know how these two managed to make people sense their spiritual pressure even when they weren't physically present, but they were clearly concealing something.

Below, Kotetsu Isane also quickly returned. Sasakibe Chojiro leaped to her side, only to hear her say, "Shin... seems to be out of the Fourth Division right now."

"..."

"Vice Captain of the Sparrow Club, what happened?" Kotetsu Isane asked anxiously. Sparrow Club Chief Jiro had suddenly come here looking for Unohana Retsu and Shin, but the two of them had both disappeared at the same time.

This made her feel uneasy; if the captain had anything to do, he would definitely have notified her in advance.

What's going on now...?

"The vice-captain of the Sparrow Division?"

Chojiro Sasaki took a deep breath and said to Isane Kotetsu, "They should be fine. Go and find them. If you do, immediately use the Binding Spell to send me a message."

After saying that, he instantly vanished from the spot.

Even after Chojiro Sasaki left, the worry on Kotetsu Isane's face did not fade.

She recalled the words the letter had spoken to her before.

Could it be that the captain and Xin...

#
First Division barracks, Captain-Commander's office.

"disappeared?!"

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni suddenly stood up, his expression visibly filled with anger.

"What's going on? Didn't you say you'd been monitoring us the whole time?" he questioned.

“They must have used some special means to evade the surveillance of the Secret Service,” Chojiro Sasaki said, bowing his head. “We could sense their spiritual pressure fluctuations from outside, but they had already disappeared.”

"Go find them immediately!" Captain-Commander Yamamoto ordered.

"I have already informed the 12th Division. Captain Unohana has a limited spirit seal, which allows them to quickly pinpoint her location."

Yamamoto stared straight at him: "They can think of ways to evade the surveillance of the Secret Service, so surely they can't evade the surveillance of the Twelfth Division?"

Chojiro Sasaki said in surprise, "That's impossible, unless Captain Unohana is no longer in Soul Society..."

Limited Spirit Seal: A mark possessed by all captains and vice-captains of the Gotei 13. Its main functions are twofold: first, to significantly suppress the spiritual pressure within the body when traveling to the real world, thus protecting the inhabitants of the present world from the harm of high-intensity spiritual pressure.

Secondly, it has a coordinate function, allowing the Seireitei to track its whereabouts anytime, anywhere.

However, the limited spirit seal is not a troublesome thing; the person who has been sealed with it can have it erased by their own will.

He then quickly added, "I will immediately send people to search for them, and at the same time, seal off the Four Gods Gate."

After he finished arranging everything, another hell butterfly flew over and landed on his fingertip.

It was a message from the 12th Division, but they couldn't find any information about Retsu Unohana; it was as if she had vanished into thin air.

“No Shinigami have been seen entering or leaving the Four Gods Gate recently. Captain Unohana and Tachikawa should still be inside the Seireitei. If they were to fight, the spiritual pressure they unleash would definitely be detectable to us,” Chojiro Sasaki reported to Captain-Commander Yamamoto. “Should we notify other divisions to help with the search?”

Yamamoto frowned and said, "Let's not make such a big fuss about it."

If the entire Thirteenth Squad were mobilized to search for them now, it would inevitably cause some rumors to spread, and Retsu Unohana and Tachikawa are only temporarily missing.

"Only let Xingjun search, and also let Kurotsuchi Mayuri keep an eye on the coordinates of the spirit mark on Unohana's body. Notify us immediately if it appears."

"Yes."

#
The space beneath the Double-Evil Platform.

As soon as Unohana Retsu arrived here, she immediately noticed the special nature of this space. It should be a space replica created by the Kido Barrier, similar in principle to the space used by the students of the Spirit Arts Academy when they conduct their field practice.

Here, spiritual pressure is isolated from the outside world, and people outside cannot detect this place.

Of course, if the spiritual pressure is too high and exceeds the limits of this demonic barrier, it will still be detected by those outside.

“There is such a place within the Seireitei.” Unohana Retsu slowly spoke.

“Here, Captain, you should be able to wield your sword to your heart’s content, right?” Xin said, standing behind her.

Unohana Retsu walked to the edge of the deep pit, and with a leap, jumped down.

It is extremely spacious here, and you can't even see the end of it when you look around. Because it is a replica of the space, the actual space it occupies is not this much.

She first looked around. The ground was slightly rugged, but it didn't matter. Looking around, there were no obstacles at all.

It was a perfect battleground for her.

Unohana Retsu walked slowly forward, her hand unconsciously resting on the hilt of her Zanpakuto at her waist.

After walking a few dozen meters, she suddenly stopped and turned her head to look at the letter. The moment she did, her lips, which were not adorned with lipstick, were stained with blood even before the hilt of the knife.

"Wave your sword as you please, do you even have the right?"

The pure white captain's haori moved on its own without wind, the stitches gnawing at Bai Lei's fetal movements. His originally kind and gentle face now had drooping eyelids, and his dark eyes revealed a chilling light.

Upon hearing this, Xin grinned and lightly leaped into the deep pit, placing his left hand on the shallow wall at his waist, standing opposite him.

"Are you going to use that shallow sword?" Retsu Unohana looked at the simple sword at Shin's waist and asked.
"At this moment, you no longer need to hide anything, right?"

She knew that the asakusa was not Shin's real Zanpakuto, and of course she hoped that Shin could unleash his full power at this moment.

Xin, however, drew the knife from his waist. "For me, it doesn't matter what kind of knife I use."

Retsu Unohana's aura seemed to grow even colder.

She suddenly realized that the letter seemed more unruly than she had thought; this was already the umpteenth time it had said something that offended her.

"You might be more charming if you said less of these arrogant things."

Shine——

Unohana Retsu slowly drew her Zanpakuto from her waist and held it horizontally in front of her. This was the first time Shin had ever seen her draw her sword.

Shizuku moans.

A sword capable of healing has always been worn by Retsu Unohana, as if it were an ornament.

Xin remained calm as a spiritual barrier emanated from his body, spreading outwards and covering a large area of ​​the deep pit.

This is a measure taken by Shin to prevent the spiritual pressure that will erupt later from being too strong and exceeding the boundaries of this space.

Retsu Unohana naturally sensed this spiritual pressure fluctuation, but she didn't say anything.

Looking at Xin standing in the distance with his sword, her thoughts suddenly returned to the moment when she first heard his name and first met him.

She only hoped that this battle, which she had longed for, would not disappoint her.

"bring it on."

(End of this chapter)